10 tips for working from home

I thought I’d share my 10 tips for working from home as many people who are used to working in an office might be finding this sudden transition quite difficult – I hope this is helpful.

For anyone who works remotely you have to figure out when to work, where in your house you’ll be working and how to create boundaries between work life and personal life before you actually get down to business.

---

10 tips for working from home

1. Figure out where you’ll be setting up your work station. This might be at your kitchen table, your desk if you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated office space, or even on your sofa. You want a dedicated space for working that you can then shut the door on or clear away when your working day is over, this is important for that work and personal life boundary and for your mental well-being – trust me! For those of us who don’t have a home office space, instead dedicate a surface (table or lap) and some peripherals only for work use. Try to think about protecting your back so a good chair or a supportive cushion to help your posture is important and remember to roll your shoulders regularly. Don’t forget about stretching and moving about to get that blood flow going. Wherever your work space is, please avoid the bedroom – try to keep this a space that’s for relaxing and sleeping otherwise you might find it difficult to switch off at night.
2. Start your day with a routine. Deciding you’ll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time is one thing but creating a routine that guides you into the chair is another. What in your morning routine signals the start of work? It might be making a cup of coffee, some people even go for a short walk mimicking a commute or just simply getting dressed. I can’t simply roll out of bed and start work so I make sure I’m up and dressed with my work station all set up and my to do list ready and open. Create a morning routine that ends with you starting work and which works for you. This will help you to feel motivated and ready to work.

3. Before you start your working day get dressed (or not if you prefer). This seems to divide people so do what works best for you but personally I find I am more productive and motivated if I get dressed. Now I’m not talking about a full face of makeup and my uniform, as I would if I was in the office, but I do wear clothes that are comfortable and if I know I’m going to be on a video chat I’ll dress a little smarter than my usual leggings and top attire. Honestly I find getting changed out of my pjs helps me to get in the right headspace for work and will allow you to take video calls without being embarrassed by your novelty nightwear. Also I love getting changed into my pjs and taking my bra off once I’m home from the office so why take that little joy away from yourself?!

4. Schedule breaks and take them. We’re all guilty of not taking a proper lunch but it’s actually really important that you factor in breaks. Know your company’s policy on break times and actually take them. Give yourself adequate time during the day to walk away from the computer screen and phone. Even if this is just the minimum lunch break whether that’s an hour or half an hour; it’s important you have a rest from your screen devices. Have something to eat, stretch, read a newspaper, magazine or book and focus on something that is not work related, this will help you to be more motivated and creative when you sit back down to work again.
5. Communication is key. Working remotely requires you to overcommunicate. Tell everyone who needs to know about your schedule and availability often. If you’re going to be away from your email because you’re doing another task make this clear, use the out of office function and set yourself as busy on messenger etc. Make use of the diary function in your email calendar so people can see what you’re working on and when. If you use systems such as Trello where you can all see what projects each other is working on – keep these up to date. When you finish a project or important task, say so. Over-communicating doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write a five-paragraph essay to explain your every move, but it does mean repeating yourself. Don’t forget email isn’t the only form of communication I’ve blogged before about the importance of Whatsapp groups in times of crisis and of course there’s video chat and ordinary telephone conversations too. Don’t just fall back on emails as these can be missed. I’m sure your manager will appreciate regular updates on workload and priorities as well as your wellbeing too.
6. Set ground rules for the other people at home for when you’re working. During the Beast from the East both Steve and I worked from home. He set up camp in the kitchen and I had the living room. It meant we could both carry on with phone calls and general duties without distracting one another. If you have children who are now at home during your work hours try to set some clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time and use whatever tools of distraction you have at your disposal.
7. Don’t overwork. I often found myself working flat out because I felt like I had to prove I was actually working when not in the office. Clearly define what hours you will be working and stick to it. You can use free software tools which track your time which you might find useful, that you can use to demonstrate your working activity. Think about what tasks you can and can’t do from home and communicate this clearly with your manager and team. Having clear priorities and workload for everyone is key. Perhaps use this as an opportunity do the jobs that don’t get done when you’re in the office where you’re regularly interrupted and distracted. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you struggle to get into a good working groove straightaway, it’s an adjustment and a different way of working but remember when you’re in the office are you actually working every minute you’re sat at your desk? Cut yourself some slack.
8. Minimise audi feedback when on video or audio calls. Where possible use headphones and mute your microphone during conference calls (unless you’re speaking) to minimise the amount of audio feedback and times that random sounds interrupt the conversation. It’s so off–putting when you’re on a call with multiple people and you can hear someone coughing or their tv in the background when they aren’t contributing at that moment. Be considerate of others on the line.
9. Too much quiet can be distracting. Some people work well in complete silence (which is rare in the open plan office situation must of us work in) but for me I need a bit of background noise; otherwise I get distracted and demotivated. So have some music or the tv on quietly in the background but don’t fall into the trap of getting too into singing along to your favourite songs or mindlessly watching daytime tv. It’s about striking a balance. Maybe don’t have your favourite album on but perhaps a chilled playlist or even search for elevator or waiting room music on YouTube. Find what works for you.
10. End your day with a routine. Just as you should start your day with a routine, create a habit that signals the close of the workday. It might be a sign off from your emails and messaging apps, taking the dog for a walk or doing some exercise. You might have a simple routine such as shutting down your computer and turning on a podcast. Whatever you choose, do it consistently to mark the end of working hours – this is again reiterating that work and personal boundary that is so important. If you’re signed into work accounts such as email or social media on your personal devices sign out when your working day is over or it’s really easy to start feeling overworked and overwhelmed with the buzz of notifications when you should be switching off from work.

---

If you have any other tips for working from home please share them in the comments below.

---

Pin this 👇🏻

---

Other related useful posts:

If you’d like to create some infographics or images with text check out this blog post 5 free websites to create infographics

If your stock photo library is a little bare here’s 5 free sites for stock images

Looking to create more videos then check out these 5 video editing apps for mobile

Make sure your Twitter feed is ticking over with these 5 free Twitter scheduling tools

If you’re not sure how much time your team spends on tasks then these 5 free time tracking tools will come in very handy

---

Keep up to date

You can also find me on Twitter @rachael_stray
Or follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rachaelstrayblog/
You can see my random pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachys2011/
And see what I’m pinning on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rachaelstray/